According to the Cactus League website, the 10 ballparks in the Phoenix metro area is "the greatest concentration of professional baseball facilities found anywhere in the United States."

Last year, 1.7 million people spent the afternoon at one of the Valley's ballparks for spring training games. That's an average of about 7,500 fans per game.

According to a study released by the Cactus League, more than half of those fans came from out of state and stayed for an average of five days. That means they not only spent money at the games, they also splurged on hotels, rental cars, restaurants, golf, shopping and other entertainment. By the end of spring training last year, visiting fans had put more than $420 million into Arizona's economy.

“Spring training pumps our economic tires each spring. But these studies confirm the economic benefits continue all year long,” said Cactus League President Mark Coronado in a news release.